The Transfer to Secondary School

Judgement on the school system and attitude to school matters Topics: The data set consists of several surveys: A) First parents complete survey: education aspiration; school attendance of one´s own children; personal school degree or that of spouse and school degree of one´s own parents; personal professional position or that of spouse. B) Second parents complete survey: type of school; education aspiration; judgement on the right assessment of the school development possibilities of one´s own child by the aptitude evaluation and perhaps reasons for the lack of agreement with this evaluation; school grades of the child in German and mathematics; employment of parents; importance of selected aspects for the selection of the type of school (scale).

C) Second survey of worker families: 1. questions on the child attending the 5th grade: type of school attended; means of transport used on the way to school and time needed for this; judgement on behavior patterns and characteristics particularly promoted by current school (scale); participation in parents evenings during current school year. 2. school: frequency of conversations with teachers in this school year; learning difficulties; school grades of the child in the subjects German and mathematics; desired school degree; assumed upward social mobility of the child; judgement on one´s own knowledge about various types of school; perceived changes between current school and elementary school (scale); time expended for homework and frequency of providing help in doing homework; conduct when repeating a year; importance of educational goals of the school; attitude to cooperation between parents and teachers; interest in school matters; general judgement on the education system in the Federal Republic; desired school during attendance of the 4th grade; time of selection of the current type of school; school grades in German and mathematics; judgement on the assessment undertaken in the elementary school recommendation about the school development possibilities of the child and reasons for a lack of agreement with this evaluation; importance of selected aspects for selection of the type of school (scale); advice received from various groups of person in selection of the school; deciding persons for the school choice. 3. miscellaneous: most important prerequisites for occupational success (scale); judgement on the general economic situation in the Federal Republic; job satisfaction; job security.